Saturday night, students dressed as Disney characters and superheroes to celebrate the Jewish holiday Purim at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.

The Purim Party, held by Penn State Hillel, KESHER, and NFTB , featured special triangular fruit-filled cookies called hamentaschen and music by Cincinnati-based band The Minor Prophets.

After attending a student-led service where the biblical story of Esther was read to celebrate Purim, about 30 students clad in costumes herded into the lounge to hear the band.

"Purim is a very festive holiday," Penn State Hillel program director Yifat Yakov Shemmer said.

The Jewish holiday is based on the story of Purim from the Biblical book of Esther, Yakov Shemmer said. The story of Purim involves the heroine, Esther, saving the Jewish people in Persia from extermination by the King's adviser, Haman.

The fate of the Jews had been left in the hands of Haman, and Esther bravely revealed his plans to the King in order to save the Jews, he said.

The students wore costumes because Purim is meant to be a joyous holiday, said Josh Block, religious co-chairman of Penn State Hillel.

He came to the event wearing a cape that read "Super Jew."

Many of the guests feasted on the hamentaschen, a cookie made only for Purim. Andy Hagen (junior-meteorology), dressed in a costume meant to be the villain Haman, said the cookies were his favorite part of the party.

The hamentaschen is also symbolic. The three-cornered shape of the cookie can symbolize two different things: Haman's ear or hat, Block said.

The Minor Prophets played throughout the entire event, talking to audience members and encouraging the students to dance.

Being first-time visitors to Penn State, they even led the audience in a few choruses of "We are ... Penn State!"

The Minor Prophets is composed of four students studying to be rabbis from Hebrew Union College.

The band plays a genre of music labeled as Jewish rock, guitarist Joel Simon said.

"We play sermons through music," he said.